Well in surfing the galleries I came across a wonderful image of christ on the cross http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=833345&Start=1&Sectionid=0&filter_genre_id=0&Form.Search=jesus&Form.Criteria=Name done by Avengia this image was also rejected from rendos huge christmas contest. i wanted to share this with everyone here, and get some thoughts and imput. i think my mom said it best..... Seeing as Christmas is the birth of Christ, no matter how we commercialize it, ignore it or deny it, the whole reason behind it is Christ. the fact they said it was to violent was a joke as she actually did a very clean simple image. take this image back in the contest. it deserves it and it shows the true meaning of christmas.

I agree, it deserves to be in the contest! If Christ isnt the meaning of peace, I dont know what is. The censorship is getting a little out of hand on this site and how you pick and choose what is right and what is wrong is just out of line. She did an outstanding work of art that portrays her feelings of peace, PUT IT BACK IN THE CONTEST!!!!!!!!!!!

it's sorry to see but Christ is being taken out of Christmas all over the world. Happy Birthday Jesus

I don't see it as being out of line. The image of Christ on the cross does not belong in a Christmas contest. It pertains to Easter.

Message edited on: 12/13/2004 14:48

Do you not understand that the birth of Christ is what Christmas is and depicting any portion of his life and the peace that he stood for, is Christmas?? He was born on Christmas and gave his life on the cross.... I dont get where you are coming from at all!!

Please do not assume that because I disagree with showing the crucifixion at Christmas that I do not understand what Christmas means.

except for the documented fact that jesus was born in the spring. ( right around the same time of year he was crucified in ) Christmas, as celebrated, is the Christian way of getting people to not celebrate the midwinter festval, as it is pagan. so it isn't about the birth of christ at all, it's about Christian discrimination, hatred and prejudice. just like most of history's wars are.

without Christ, there is no Christ-mass

Also keep in mind that Christmas is different things to different people.
The Christian religion does not have the tradmark on Christmas. It is a man made holiday that began as something else entirely. For some it is still a pagan celebration, for some it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, to others it is a holiday of Santa and gift giving.

I'm a Christian and I can say it's unfair to attach any ownership to Christmas. Celebrate it how you wish but remember that it is a man made holiday with origins that are not Christian at all.

it's sorry to see but Christ is being taken out of Christmas all over the world. No, they are not taking Christ out of Christmas. I think most are missing the point of why there is a movement to call this the "holiday season" instead of Christmas. People of other faiths ALSO have a holiday around this time ... there is Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadhan, and a host of others. By singling out one faith and letting its icons rule over the others, you are being disrespectful of other religions and their beliefs. Calling this the "Holiday Season" is very much in keeping with Jesus' teachings of doing unto others and keeping the peace.

well I'm removing myself from renderosity if they wont put it back. May be others will follow.

1. Re: The Meaning of Christmas by ArtyMotion on 12/13/04 15:18 I think most are missing the point of why there is a movement to call this the "holiday season" instead of Christmas. People of other faiths ALSO have a holiday around this time ... there is Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadhan, and a host of others. By singling out one faith and letting its icons rule over the others, you are being disrespectful of other religions and their beliefs. Calling this the "Holiday Season" is very much in keeping with Jesus' teachings of doing unto others and keeping the peace. im not saying it should rule over the others but it should be allowed to be shown with the others. its just another form of censorship and if thats the case, why have a holiday contest at all? for most the holiday season is a very spiritual and emotional time of year no matter what religon or holiday you celebrate...so of course each person will have their own religion, spirituality, upbringing and ideas on a good christmas image. NONE of them should be refused. isnt peace on earth about tolerance of others views, religions ect ect? im really not seeing that here.

I cross posted with you Jaqui. :)

That may be true of it's origin but not today. That is also something to keep in mind. I actually grew up in a Church of Christ and they did not believe in celebrating it as the birth of Jesus. For the reason you mention, it was not the date nor the time of year as well as the fact that it was not something celebrated beyond the actual birth. For us it was a winter holiday with Santa and gift giving.
I've chosen to keep it a winter holiday with my kids but not completely discount the religious aspect of it. They also know the origin and with all the facts they can choose to celebrate it how they want. If they choose to incorporate the birth of Jesus into the holiday it won't have anything to do with hatred.

im not saying it should rule over the others but it should be allowed to be shown with the others. its just another form of censorship and if thats the case, why have a holiday contest at all?

First of all, the crucifixion and all that it implies is an icon that pertains more to the celebration of Jesus' death and resurrection. And, for that, Christians have a separate holiday, called Easter.

Christmas is for the celebration of the BIRTH of Christ, as all of you have stated here. Some choose to believe that the purpose for Christ's birth was to die for our sins. However, there are many other Christians, such as myself, who believe that Christ came here to show us how to LIVE. It was our ignorance of the meanings of his teachings that caused his death, and the deaths of countless others since then.

I see Christmas as a celebration of Jesus' LIFE, not of his death. I do not feel that the crucifixion depicts his life as symbolically as the manger scene, or even one of the miracles he performed. To get this back on topic, and not off to start a religious war, the TOS clearly states that acts of torture (such as crucifixion) is not permitted. THAT is the reason the image was deleted, not that it depicted Christ. There are many other events from Christ's life that would be accepted in the contest.

Message edited on: 12/13/2004 15:45

Maybe we should just take down everything that has to do with religion, the angels, the devils, and I have seen many of these images that depict violence and no one says a word. Browse the galleries and tell me you dont see tons of violence, blood, torture etc. Why are people so sensitive when it comes to Christ? Yes, there are many other aspects of his life she could have depicted but this is what Peace meant to her.... I still say it should be allowed!!!

Let me make one thing clear....the contest was about PEACE ON EARTH.....not about Christmas at all. To me, the true symbol of Jesus on the cross is what comes to mind when I Think of this. HE DIED SO THAT WE COULD BE FREE....and before he died, he said.... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. --John 14:27 HELLO??? Do none of you get the same feeling of "peace" that I get when I read that? Everytime I think of him on the cross, I think of all that he has done for us, and all the ways he tried to teach us about love and honesty and most of all peace. So, because he was nailed to a cross (which if you look at my picture closely, I kept as much of the gory details out of it as I could) it's violent???? Um...no. It's REAL. It HAPPENED. (For those of us that believe...) I didn't show him being beaten....I didn't show him in any other manner other than the manner that brings the word "peace" to my mind. So, let me ask you this? Should all those churches that have him nailed to the cross up at their altar take that cross down because it portrays violence? Should all the stained glass windows that portray the steps of crucification be shattered because they portray violence? NO! Because it's not considered a violent act in this case. If it can be shown globally around the world in various ways without being censored, I should be able to post the same picture here in a simple contest. Okay, so it wasn't the most pleasant thing to do to Him, but without it, we would never be forgiven for our sins. We would never have PEACE WITHIN OURSELVES....

where do I have to go to stop recieving theses e-mails ?

It has nothing to do with whether or not the icon of Christ on the cross is a symbol of peace. It has to do with the rules at Renderosity. Trust me, as one who tried to debate fairly in the Den, what it all boils down to is how Renderosity enforces their TOS. And to that end, I suspect this thread will be locked shortly.

That's our point exactly....it's their screwed up rules. Renderosity does NOT have the right to censor religion, in any way shape or form. If someone doesn't believe in Angels, should Renderosity censor it? No. If you don't believe in Jesus, or his crucifiction, then just don't look. Sorry I didn't do a sappy picture of a puppy dog with a Peace Symbol in his hand. But to have someone tell me that my idea of Peace on Earth isn't allowed? Sorry, but that's not really their right. Here's the funny part....I work for a lawyer. I asked. It's illegal to do what Renderosity did, because His crucifiction was NEVER described as a violent act...anywhere. Instead, the whole thing has been described as a miracle.

Renderosity does NOT have the right to censor religion

They are not censoring religion. They are censoring the depiction of violence.

It is unfortunate that one of the icons of Christianity depicts Jesus on the cross. Like I said earlier, many Christians feel that was the cornerstone of his existence. Others like myself focus more on the EXAMPLES he set.

However, the fact remains that as soon as you make one exception to the "no crucifixions" rule because it expresses the religious feelings of one person, you open the possibility to allow others to express their religious freedom through violent art as well. And I'm not sure I would appreciate a gallery of Satanic rituals either.

Message edited on: 12/13/2004 16:43

hey, there's PLENTY of Violence in Renderosity, so why are they censoring Christ being crusified ?

Christmas is about the birth of Christ, not His crucifixion, so crucifixion scenes are inappropriate in this context. If you want to have crucifixion scenes, wait until "The Meaning of Easter". However, they might want to stay clear of religious themes, if non-Christians find them offensive or discriminatory.

OMG...people are dense.... This contest is NOT about CHRISTMAS!!! It is about PEACE ON EARTH No where in the contest does it say that it's about Christmas. What is so hard about that theme for people to understand??? No, I won't wait for Easter, because in my eyes, Peace on Earth is a year round theme. People just chose to associate it with Christmas and the Holiday Season....(when, if you want my opinion...if it should deal with any holiday, it should be Easter, New Years, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, etc...not JUST Christmas.)

"However, they might want to stay clear of religious themes, if non-Christians find them offensive or discriminatory."

In my opinion people need to learn to deal with ideas they don't agree with whether it's violence, goth, vampires, witches or religious images. It's pretty tiresome to listen to all the complaints over religious icons when there are plenty of images here that a Christian or any religious person must deal with seeing. It's definitely not a level playing field in that regard.

In my opinion people need to learn to deal with ideas they don't agree with whether it's violence, goth, vampires, witches or religious images. THAT, my friend, is the central problem at this site. Anything outside the TOS spoils "the community spirit." Heh.

Renderosity does not discriminate based on religion. That is quite evident in the number of Christian based images and animations that were approved for this contest. This particular image was not approved because it clearly states in the rules "no violence". Avengia was advised that while her image was beautifully done, it did not comply with that rule and she was encouraged to resubmit another image if she wished. Thank you, LillianH Renderosity Marketing and Promotions